BEIJING

The death toll in China from the novel coronavirus outbreak has climbed to 491, the country’s National Health Commission (NHC) said Tuesday.

In a statement, the commission said 24,324 confirmed cases have been reported so far and 65 people have died in the last 24 hours.

The number of people under medical observation has risen to 185,555 while the number of those thought to be infected is now 23,260.

The number of those detected with the virus outside China's mainland has reached 18 in Hong Kong and 10 in Macau. Both are special administrative regions.

The NHC also announced that the bodies of those who died from the outbreak will be burned in crematorium areas near hospitals.

Besides China, the virus has spread to more than 20 countries including Japan, South Korea, Thailand, the U.S., Singapore, France, Russia, Spain, Vietnam, Malaysia, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, India and Canada.

The virus, which was first detected in December in the city of Wuhan, the capital of central China’s Hubei province, is said to have been transmitted to humans from animals, particularly bats.

It raised alarm globally with cases reported across Asia, Europe, the U.S. and Canada.

The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak an international emergency.

The U.S. also declared a public health emergency due to the new type of coronavirus.

Russia on Saturday suspended visa-free travel for tourists to and from China.

Travellers from China are being screened for the virus at airports worldwide and several airlines have suspended flights to Wuhan.

Japan, South Korea, the U.S., Australia, Pakistan, India, France, Germany, Indonesia, Malaysia and Turkey have evacuated their citizens from Wuhan.

*Writing by Fahri Aksut